Keeper for doors



Aug. 17, 1937. G. w. WELLS KEEPER FOR DOORS Filed NOV. 13, 1936 w x ,2 3., ym, 2|\.\ 2 Ml. G m, L. n a A. ow.- Z O Patented Aug. 17, 1937 UNITED STAT ori-lcs This invention relates to certain improvements in a type of keeper which is primarily adapted for use in combination with the latch device disclosed in my Patent No. 2,034,363 dated March In the form of keeper device disclosed in my said patent, and the forms shown in my pending application 82,462 iiled May 29, 1936, and Patent 2,066,438 dated Jan. 5, 1937, the so-called safety feature is not as reliable as is desirable.

The necessity of this safety feature arises when the operating handle is moved by accident, or otherwise, and is released without opening the door, awith the result that the latch member is l5 either slightly lowered or, if lowered to the full extent, is partly raised again upon release of the handle.

Under these conditions the locking pawls or dogs of my previously disclosed keepers swingdown and may or may not hold the door against opening movement. For the purpose of catching the door, so that it will not swing free of the jamb, I have provided a deep notch in the latch member which will generally be engaged by the keeper, but this arrangement has not always lbeen effective, and, moreover, the door will have nearly swung free of the jamb before the safety notch is engaged.

It is desirable, therefore, not only to provide an effective keeper device which will prevent the door from opening in any partially lowered position of the latch member, but it is also desirable to provide a device with which the opening movement of the door will be instantly checked in any of the partly. lowered positions thereof.

been released.

I accomplish these objects by providing a form of locking pawl or dog, in some respects similar to those shown in my said prior patent, but which is soarranged that, while it normally operates in practically the same manner as the corresponding parts shown in my said patent, is so arranged that in case the latch is partly lowered, so that the dog is permitted to swing outward, its pivotal point will be transferred outwardly to l.55 another point, so that the latch engaging end of the dog will be swung on a radius of increasedV inclination and length and will then be swung downward to a lower point than that to which it would be swung on the pivot from which it normally swings, so that the pressure of the end of the dog on the latch is instantly increased to such an extent that further opening of the door is effectively checked.

For a more complete disclosure of my invention reference is now made to the following speciiication, in connection with the accompanying drawing in which: Y

Fig. 1 is front elevation of a door and jamb section to which my improved form of keeper has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a keeper embodying my invention.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View at line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 4 and 5 are views similar to Fig. 2 showing the'parts in different positions, and under different conditions.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the pawls and the parts immediately associated therewith.

- In the drawing iii indicates a portion of a door and M a portion of its jamb, a latch device such as is disclosed in my said prior patent being mounted on the door, said device comprising the supporting projection i2, on which the vertically movinglatch member I3 is mounted, the position of'which is controlled by the handle operated cam shaft i4. The jamb is preferably provided with a horizontally disposed support l5 on which the projection l2 is supported in the closed position of the door, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

According to my invention I provide a pair of holding dogs i3 and Il, which are arranged successively to engage the top surface of the latch member i3, as the door is closed, and, while I prefer-to employ two of said dogs, instead of a single dog, a single dog is perfectly effective. Both dogs'are identical in construction, so that a description of one of them will suiice.

Each dog is formed of rigid sheet metal and shaped in U-form in transverse section toprovide a middle and two side portions, the lower end of saidmiddle portion being extended to form a slightly inwardly curved tongue |8,.the lower end or bottom edge of which is horizontal and is of a length corresponding to the width of the latch member i3, or the extent to which it projects from the door. Each side portion is provided at its top edge Ywith two convexly shaped projections 29, 22, to form pivotal portions, and the top edge between said projectionsY is of concave formation,`i`orming a recess 23.

It is to be particularly noted that the distance from the end of the tongue i8 to the middle of the portions 2U is less than the distance from the end of the tongue to the middle of the portions 22.

A stiff metal strip 24 is riveted to the underside of the top of the keeper casing 25 and is formed to provide two convexly curved portions 26, which conform in curvature to the recesses 23 of the dogs. Also transverse grooves 21 and 21 are formed in the under side of the strip 24 at the ends of the curved portions, which are adapted to receive pivotal projections 20 and 22. A spring 28 is arranged to hold each dog with its recessed ends 23 engaged with the curved portions Zii and its projections 20, 22 respectively engaged in the grooves 21, 21', one end of the spring' being attached to a lug 29 struck out from the middle portion of the dog, adjacent its lower end, and the other end of the spring being extended thru a slot 30 in the strip 24 and being connected to a cross pin 3|, which rests on the upper side of the curved portion 26. The spring is thus located between the sides of the dog, and is-so arranged that it normally acts to hold the dog to which it is attached in the positionof Fig. 2, in which position it tends to resist swinging movementof the pawl either inwardly, or outwardly. Y

While it is desirable to provide a support, as I5, on the jamb for the rigid supporting member I2 on the door, it will be understood that whether the support I5 is or is not provided, or Whether, if, it is provided, it is rigid or slightly yielding, in any event the latch member I3 is carried in a substantially predetermined horizontal path and is normally held in the position of Fig. 2, so that, when the door is closed, the pawls are swung inwardly from a normal and approximately vertical position, on their inner projections 20 as pivots, as shown in Fig. 4, in which position the tongues I 8 at their lower ends are iirmly en` gaged with the top surface of the latch member i3, and iirmly hold the door against opening movement in a multiplicity of positions. In practice'the top surface of member I3 is provided with closely spaced, shallow corrugationswhich l member is lowered to its fullest extent, it will be carried out of contact with the dogs, so that if held in this position, the door'may be opened.

As thus far described, the operation is sbstantially the same as that disclosed in my said patent. If, however, the operating Vhandle should be turned sufficiently to permit a partial lowering of theY latch member, or is turned sufficiently to permit complete lowering thereof, and if the handle is then released, the door inY either instance being permitted to remain closed, the result will be that the latch member will be held in a partly lowered position, as indicated for example in Fig. 5. Under these conditions, with my previously disclosed forms of keepers, there is danger that the dogs will fail togengage the latch member with suflicient force to prevent opening of the door, although in most instances they will engage in the safety notch and prevent complete opening.

With my `improved construction, however, the followingaction takes place under the conditions outlined, assuming the parts to be in the position of Fig. 4.

If the handle is operated, without opening the door, the latch member will be lowered sumciently to perrmt the dogs to swing outward to their normal position, and when the handle is released the member will be lifted again until it is forced against the dogs, while in this position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 5.

Under this condition any tendency to swing the door outward will tend to swing the dogs outward, so that the pivotal point of engagement of eachdog will instantly be transferred to the outerV projections 22 and any further outward swing- .ing movement will be from this point as a. center.

ter of motion to the end of the tongue I8 will be transferred from an approximately vertical position to an inwardly inclined position, as iny dicated by the dotted lines X, in Fig. 5. rAs the center of motion has thus been moved outward, and the distance from the center'to the end of the tongue will have beenk increased, it will be apparent that the end of the tongue I8 will tend to swing downward, which it would not tend to do if it were being swung from the inner pivotal point 2t. As a result the dogs will instantly engage the latch member in a position which is at least as effective asvunder the normal conditions shown in Fig. 4. While the dogs may under these conditions swing out to the dotted line positions of Fig. 5, in actual practice, the

outward swinging movement from the full line position of Fig. 5, will be very slight.

if, however, the latch member should yield to some extent, the dogs would swing down correspondingly and hold the door against opening.`

`Under these conditions the radius from the cen` either of the dogs swings outward from the position of Fig. 2, its spring 28 will be stretched, so that the spring constantly tends to return the dog to the normal position of Fig. 2 Whether it is swung inward or outward from this position.

With this construction the range of position of the latch member in which the dogs will engagel it and effectively lock the door againstopening movement is substantially increased, as compared with my previously disclosed constructions, and it is eiiective in locking the door against opening movement in any position'in which the door is closed suiiiciently to permit engagement of the outermost dog with the latch member. 'I'he arrangement is also instantly effective in all of the engaged positions, as the lower end of one or both of the dogs will be held iirmly against the latch member in all of these positions and any tendency of the door to move outward causes the pressure of the dog on the latch member to be increased instantly, so that any appreciable opening of the'door will be prevented.

The construction is also advantageous in that it is of suiiicient strength effectively to resistall strains to which it is liable to be subjected, and, from a manufacturing standpoint, is advantageous as it may be easily constructed and as-` sembled.

I claim: 1

l. A keeper for use on`the jamb of a door arranged for engagement with,Y the horizontally disposed top face of a latch member on the door and comprising a casing having a depending dog mounted therein, said dog having a latch memf ber engaging lace at its lower end and an inner and an outer pivotal engagement with the casing at its upper end, so arranged that as the dog swings inwardly from its normal position it will pivot at the inner point of engagement and as it swings outward from said position it will pivot at the outer point of engagement.

2. A keeper for the jamb of a door arranged for engagement with the horizontally disposed top face of a latch member on the door, and comprising a casing having a dog mounted therein in a depending position, said dog having a latch member engaging face at its lower end and a pivotal engagement with the casing at its upper end at an inner and an outer point, and a spring arranged to hold said dog in an intermediate position in which it is engaged with the casing at both pivotal points and permits the dog to swing inwardly from said position on the inner point as a pivot and to swing outwardly therefrom on the outer point as a pivot.

3. A keeper for the jamb of a` door arranged for engagement with the horizontally disposed top face of a latch member on the door, and comprising a casing having a dog mounted therein in a depending position, said dog having a latch member engaging face at its lower end, and having a loose engagement at its upper end with the casing at an inner and an outer pivotal point, and a spring arranged normally to hold said dog in a position in which it engages the casing at both pivotal points and permits the dog to swing inward from said position on the inner pivotal point and to swing outward therefrom on the outer pivotal point.

4. A keeper for the jamb of a door arranged for engagement with the horizontally disposed top face of a latch member on the door, and comprising a casing having a dog mounted therein in a depending position, said dog having a latch member engaging face at its lower end, and a loose engagement at its upper end with the casing at an inner and an outer pivotal point, the distance from the face at the lower end of the dog to the inner pivotal point being less than the distance therefrom to the outer pivotal point, and a spring arranged to hold said dog in engagement with the casing at both pivotal points and to yield to permit the dog to swing in either direction on one or the other of said pivotal points.

5. A keeper for the jamb of a door arranged for 'engagement with the horizontally disposed top face of a latch member on the door, and comprising a casing having a dog mounted therein in a depending position, said dog having a middle portion and two side portions, said middle portion having a latch engaging face at its lower end and said side portions each having at their upper ends a pivotal point of engagement with the casing adjacent the middle portion and a pivotal point of engagement therewith at a substantial distance outwardly from said middle portion, and a spring disposed between said side portions and connected at its lower end to the dog adjacent its said face, and at its upper end to said casing, in position normally to hold all of said pivotal points in engagement with the casing and to yield to permit swinging movement of the dog either inwardly or outwardly on the corresponding inner or outer pivotal points.

6. A keeper for the jamb of a door arranged for engagement with the horizontally disposed top face of a latch member on the door, and comprising a casing having a dog mounted therein in a depending position,'said dog having a middle portion and two outwardly extending side portions, said middle portion having a latch engaging face at its lower end and said side portions each having two projecting portions at its top edge, one adjacent the middle portion and the other at the outer edge thereof and said casing having recesses to receive said projecting portions to permit pivotal engagement thereof with the casing, and a spring disposed between said side portions and connected at its lower end to the middle portion and at its upper end to the casing, normally to hold said projecting portions in position in said recesses and to yield to permit inward or outward swinging movement of the dog on theinner or outer projecting portions, respectively.

GEORGE W. WELLS. 

